


Bird Of Prey

by sinceimetyou



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Artists, City Tourist, F/M, Fluff, Gen, New York City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 20:37:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16878768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinceimetyou/pseuds/sinceimetyou
Summary: After losing his family, Clint mets someone new but he is not ready to tell the rest about you and nosy Bucky wants to know what is going on.





	Bird Of Prey

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry to thoughtsofdarc 1k Writing Challenge on Tumblr. I got the prompt “Did you do that? For me?” with Clint Barton.
> 
> The song that actually inspired this whole thing is Bird Of Prey by Editors.
> 
> **MY WORK IS NOT MEANT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER SITES WITHOUT MY EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION**

Every Sunday.

Every Sunday, Clint would be disappearing from the relative calm of the compound only to lose himself in the concrete jungle that is New York city. It was stupid, as he would say, but religiously, he would wake up too early to be noticed around and take a bus to any part of the islands. Mostly to beautiful and crowded parks.

While any of those places might seem ordinary for an Avenger, Clint enjoyed strolling through them, relishing a shaved ice cone with some fruit syrup and then slumping underneath a tree, letting the sun hit his constantly aching body. He was always marveled by the amount of families with little children playing around, something that instead of keep breaking his heart after losing Laura and the kids, he often found himself drawing a wide melancholic smile, contemplating the life going on. If they knew how many things have been taken away to achieve their happiness, he would say to himself.

The returns to the Compound made him bear the life for the rest of the week until his return to the joy of strolling through a park full of people.

And then one day, he found you.

Lovely young woman always carrying a little sketchbook pad, some white and yellow pieces of paper threatening to fly from the pad with the wind and a thin tin with drawing pencils, a smudger and loose pieces of carbon; but most importantly, the heart on the sleeve and a smile to earn some money for the day. Not that you needed it, but you always had the eye and talent and felt it was worth to be shared. And also, you had your eye on a fucking gorgeous box of pencils and pastels from a well-known designer.

In one of the occasions when you were a complete klutz while carrying your materials to your table in Washington Square Park, the pad fell on the floor and the loose papers went away with the wind. Worst part is that the wind was blowing a bit hard and soon, you found yourself running behind every piece. Those were your personal projects and no one was allowed to even peek at them.

One of them hit straight to the face Clint and you clearly saw the embarrassing way it landed there. He dumbfounded, took it on his hands without stop walking and crashed against you. And of course, the fact of him being stronger than you, made you fell on your ass.

The hit hurt. He helped you to get up and in silence you accepted the rush of apologies that came from his mouth, he looked really concerned for your well-being and the drawings but the only thing you managed to do was to stare at him, amused by this big green eyes, softening his sight for you. After keep talking to you without a response, he drew a faint smile until it gradually turned into a contagious big grin and then, bubbly laughs bursted upon you two. And from there you couldn’t help it, you fell in love.

Clint was so happy. He didn’t look for this; it literally hit him on his face. But on his way back to home at the end of the day, some guilt started to creep on his thoughts and felt it was right to keep this secret, excluding this from the rest of his superhero friends until he found the proper way to understand and explain what was going on inside of him. He did it before, it could work again.

Week after week, Bucky noticed some changes in his friend. Yes, he considers him that way. He was less attentive at debriefings, drawing little things at the edges of the papers he had to deliver to Tony and mostly, sighing loudly when he spaced out while looking through windows. For some reason, he thought he was the only one noticing them and when he tried to speak about his uneasiness on that matter to Sam or even Tony, he was bluntly told to not intervene in whatever was going on with Clint. But Nat gave him a little clue: his trips to the city.

For the first time, she didn’t know everything but from some weeks before, Clint shut down with everyone and that made her feel bad, she took it personally but was not invested in knowing why like Bucky was. They were friends and suddenly, it was like they were complete strangers. Her intuition was telling her that it was because of the trips for the little signs she noticed like his change of mood from Saturdays or Mondays, the wet patches on his shirts with little bits of grass and dirt and how he always carried pieces of paper that he folded when someone was approaching to him.

Bucky tried one time to get close to him to talk about Natasha but he didn’t even let him get into his place, they had to talk at the corridor of their rooms and Clint was constantly blocking his door, being more worried in doing it than paying attention to whatever he was saying. So… talking straight from the source was not working too.

\---

By the next Sunday morning, Bucky was ready. He woke up nearly at 5 am and had a little backpack ready for the trip… but Clint was already gone.

The next week, something similar happened but this time, Bucky took the wrong bus and ended in another borough of the city. Later that day, when he returned to the Compound and with no clues of Clint around, he was too hot, too exhausted and only wanted to eat and melt on his bed.

The third time’s the charm but now, with the help of the package delivery service company.

On a Friday morning, Clint received an impressive white box. No address or name, just a heavy box with a sticker with his full name and the Compound info. He wasn’t around that day and Bucky who was passing by one of the common rooms after working out, was in charge to receive it along with the mail from the rest of the team.

Skillfully, he grabbed one of his small hidden knifes and tried to open it without leaving a trace but he then noticed that he was in the middle of the room and could be seen by anyone and any camera. He took it to Clint’s room to just deliver it and after some knocks to his door without response, he noticed the door wasn’t even locked with key. Suddenly, all the luck of the world was on his side.

He carefully opened it and got in quickly, closing the door behind smoothly. Bucky was extremely careful to move or to touch anything even when the place was a complete disaster. However, he found what it seemed a clue, one of those things that Natasha mentioned. There was a school notebook over his nightstand and in the back of it, many scrunched and folded pieces of paper. He opened it with the tip of the blade of his knife, only to find doodles, badly drawn people and little phrases from books; removed the tip and placed it at the end of it to open it again and see the pieces of paper.

Drawings again, this time, more beautiful and detailed of Clint, his eyes, his hands, his hands entwining with some more feminine hands… Buck closed the notebook abruptly.

He took the box and poked one of the corners of it with the knife until he made a hole in the cardboard and carved a slit in the corrugated part of it. He placed the tiniest tracker he could find at Bruce’s lab and hid it. He exited the room rushedly and started to prepare for Sunday.

\---

Bucky woke up on time and even managed to get on the right bus, it was right behind. He practically put himself in mode Winter Soldier, completely predatory for Clint minus the guns and the killings. The tracker was working wonderfully.

It was around midday when Clint arrived to Washington Square Park to see you. He was carrying that big box he received and although the idea of wrapping it with cute paper crossed his mind, the only fact of asking to Natasha to help him would have cost him an endless interrogatory. When he got near the Arch, he took out of a bag a purple ribbon pull-bow and stuck it at the top of the box.

Clint kept walking through the park until he found you. You were sketching an elder couple who were spending their vacations in the city and wanted a cute memory.

“Hey honey!”

“Hello…” You said without even looking at him, concentrated in your sketch. “I’ll be with you in a sec. Just let me finish this…”

“I got you something, took me a while to find a good retailer and…”

You gave him a quick look, first to his face and then to the large box he was carrying, furrowing your brows, however, you didn’t stop drawing.

“Babe, this is heavy, please…”

“Oh sure!” You rushed the last details and hand it to the couple who in exchange, paid your fare and left your table with a wide smile. “What is it?”

“Open it” Clint placed the box in the floor and looked at you excited; he wanted to see your reaction.

You quickly opened it and to your major surprise, it was that black case with thin drawers filled with pencils and pastels that you’ve been dreaming about, the main reason of why you started this little business. Clint search for it after you told him some dates later after you met.

“You are kidding me! Clint! Did you do that? For me?” ” You couldn’t believe it and your voice was sounding a bit more pitched from the excitement. You got up from your seat and jumped to his arms. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

He received you with a warm and tight hug, laughing for your happiness and just with that, you were brightening his day. You were about to kiss him when the sound of someone clearing a throat came from the front of your table.

“Sorry, do I interrupt, doll?” the voice was too familiar to Clint and he shivered when he turned to see.

“Oh, no… I’m sorry, haha… please, take a seat… uhm…” The heat was creeping on your cheeks and immediately left Clint’s embrace to attend your new client but the moment you saw him, you froze completely. “…Bucky?”

Buck, who had his most serious and murdery face, changed it for an astonished one and let his mouth fell.

“”Who the hell is Bucky?” Yeah, we all know that joke…” Clint said to you but you couldn’t even form a thought.

“Why she knows about me?” He asked straight to Clint.

“Why the hell are you here? How you found me?”

“The box. I asked, why she knows about me?” Bucky was now looking at you, squinting his sight.

“Go back to the Compound, this is not your biz old farmer…”

“I just asked something, you don’t want me to take out my guns you stupid bird… Is she from HYDRA?”

“WHAT?! Who are you calling ‘stupid’?! Are you kidding me?! You’ve just ruined my surprise to her…”

“What’s in the box too, huh?”

“Shut up! Is not your matter…”

Clint was getting too annoyed for his presence and the mean stupidity emaning from Bucky mouth was getting on your nerves; they were really close to start fighting for real when reality hit you, they didn’t know about you because he never told them. You extended your hand to greet him and Bucky finally shut up and shook your hand softly.

“Hi. I’m Y/N, Bucky…” You smiled to him widely and he was slightly smirking. “I have something for you!”

“What?” Both Clint and Bucky exclaimed.

You pulled from the back of your pad some of those pieces of paper with your most beloved drawings. You were handing them to Clint for weeks with sweet nothings, inspiring stuff from movies, parts of him that you liked and other bits from your everydayness. Then you found it. Clint showed you a couple times, pictures from the Avengers and your mind caught some of those images for new sketches. You were hoping to meet them one day, the same day Clint would be ready to accept his fate and start a new chapter with you.

“Why?” Bucky asked, admiring the magnificent job you did. You actually pulled such a beautiful sketch for him, making him look worth to himself, happier and relaxed, traits that he barely recognizes.

“Because you are his friend. A very good looking friend by the way… he has even admitted that…” you winked one of your eyes to both.

“It’s not true, I never said that!” Clint rolled out his eyes.

“Look, I care a lot about him… He has become someone very important to me. He told me everything for what has been through and I’ve been patient because he has been patient with me too, haha. I can be a real mess if you ask me. And well… that’s what I love to do. I even have more from the rest of your… friends.”

A perplexed look was on both as a sign that they were more calmed by your words.

“That box…”

“That box is full of material for her. I got it for her because she, without fully realizing it, taught me to draw and she told me about it. I got it as a ‘thank you’ gift…” Clint was staring at you with loving eyes.

“You draw horribly…”

“Bucky!” You yelled while getting close to Clint to stop him in case he would try to beat his friend. “You seriously started drawing?”

“Well, we are I’m not like you... boy…friend who does it better” Clint looked back at you. “Just doodles and weird forms…”

“ Not Steve but I have a pretty girlfriend, if you wanted to know. And they were really ugly, but you know… he “tried””

“Stop it…” You sighed, brought your hands to your face in exasperation and then started laughing. For some weird reason, the fact of being caught was relieving you.

Clint stared at you confused but then you gave a little jump again to his arms to kiss him avidly. Bucky stared for some seconds and then moved his look away a bit embarrassed.

“You can’t say anything to the rest” Clint pointed out with one your pencils to his face. “I’m not ready yet”

“I won’t…” Bucky was staring at his sketch with a faint proud smile. Folded the paper and kept it in his backpack. “But you have to bring Y/N, she is a sweet…”


End file.
